$4.8 million Tahoe City Transit Center to open Monday

<b>Courtesy photo </b>From left, Robert Weygandt, Jim Holmes, Jack Duran and Jennifer Montgomery - four of the five Placer County supervisors - participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday for Placer County's Transit Center in Tahoe City, which will open for business on Monday, Oct. 29.

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TAHOE CITY, Calif. - The Tahoe City Transit Center is being hailed by officials as an advancement for public transportation in the North Lake Tahoe region.After approximately two years of construction and spending $4.8 million to complete, the center on 165 West Lake Blvd., just off Highway 89 south of the Wye, will be ready for business this Monday, said Peter Kraatz, deputy director of Placer County Department of Public Works."It's a key facility for North Lake Tahoe and for really enchancing transit in the area," Kraatz said. "Now there's a place for people to park their car and get on a bus when we didn't really have that amenity before."The center is a "modern park and ride" facility that features six bus bays, a Nextbus display system for up-to-date bus arrival times and a 1,100-square-foot terminal with both indoor and covered outdoor waiting areas, according to a Placer County press release."The design is amazing, clean and green and fits in well with the area," said Jennifer Montgomery, Placer County Supervisor for District 5, in an email interview.On-site parking is available at the center, with 130 spaces, plus several enclosed bike lockers with an electronic pay-per-use system along with more traditional bike racks, according to the press release. The center covers about 2.5 acres adjacent to hiking and bike paths, designed for easier mobility around the north and west shores of Lake Tahoe."I certainly hope it will inspire people to ride the bus and use the transit center as a hub to connect to other transit options like the water shuttle, their own bikes and the trail system in the area," Montgomery said.She said the center will also enhance rider safety."It certainly makes transferring between bus routes safer - no more making people cross at the Wye in an unsafe manner," she said.Montgomery along with fellow Placer supervisors Jack Duran, Robert Weygandt and Jim Holmes; other Placer County officials and representatives from Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and North Lake Tahoe Resort Association were among those who attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday at the center.The transit center is part of TRPA's Environmental Improvement Project program to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality, which will in turn benefit lake clarity, according to the press release.The press release goes on to say the facility was funded largely through federal and state transportation grants, along with Placer County Transient Occupancy Tax funds, and is being managed by the Placer County Department of Public Works.Kraatz said the center will not eliminate existing bus stops."It's an addition to the stops we already have, but it does impact some times at our nearby stops," he said.Riders can get the latest bus schedules at www.placer.ca.gov/tart or can use their smartphones to access www.nextbus.com for real-time locations of on-route buses and predicted arrival times of TART buses at all stops on all routes.